The legacy of a man who left a fortune to help the people of Coventry has ensured the Arena stadium will become a reality.

The Alan Edward Higgs Charity has put in #6.5 million to the Foleshill project, which will be the new home of the Sky Blues in September 2005.

The charity is now 50 per cent shareholder with the city council in Arena Coventry Ltd, taking over that commitment from Coventry City FC.

The club, which has already ploughed up to #7 million in the site, will have an option to buy back a shareholding from the charity after 10 years. Neither the charity nor the council can sell shares for five years.

For Derek Higgs, the son of the charity founder and chairman of the trustees, the investment is a twin strike for the good of the city.

He saw his first game at Highfield Road in 1949 and is an unashamed City fan. But he sees the Arena, which will house a huge casino and exhibition centre as well as the stadium, as a massive boost for the north of Coventry.

He said: ?Our primary objective is that our charity proposals benefit the inhabitants of 25 miles (in and around) Coventry. It is absolutely in line with the social impact we want and what charities are being encouraged to do.?

The city council estimates the former gasworks site will generate 3,000 jobs, with the adjoining Tesco superstore many hundreds more.

The charity money is the last piece in the jigsaw that the banks and building tenderers have wanted to see to underpin the financial package.

It is no secret that Coventry City are strapped for cash and were struggling to commit more money to the stadium. City chairman Mike McGinnity said that at the outset the club wanted to own the stadium but relegation and the loss of TV deals had hit the club hard.

He said: ?It has been extremely difficult, football has changed. Now the head rules the heart and we have to run as a business. We would have wanted to own the stadium but we are grateful that the Higgs Trust has come in and for the support that the council has given us.?

The club will pay #1 million a year rent and move in to the 32,000-seat stadium for the 2005 season kick off.

Council leader John Mutton said total investment by the city council would be about #10 million and the cash had been found through reserves. Council tax would not go up ?by one penny? to fund the scheme.

He expected the complex to bring in a #2 million a year profit for the council in about 15 years? time.